The Misanthropic Shiba

Archive for August, 2009

One of my Facebook friends posted this:

MameShiba: Bean-shaped dog dolls that try to make you puke or anorexic with, ahem, “interesting” facts.

I’m going to be hearing that creepy “Mameshiba!!!” in my dreams.  Aaaagh!

I liberated the photo at left of Shassi from Mom’s place so I could scan it for her birthday.  In doing so, I found a picture of Tierce that had similar properties and was struck by the difference.

Shassi, at 3 months is already graceful and compact.  She could run extremely fast (as we found to our chagrin) and in this picture, taken in 1993, she appears to have the structure that would later grow and solidify into a healthy framework for a female Shiba.  She grew proportionately – while she did go through a gangly adolescent phase, it was relatively short.  She “came together” at about a year and a half, although it would be another few months before she filled out.

Now look at Tierce’s photo.  At 8 1/2 weeks in 2007, he’s already All Boy, with a big head and muzzle compared with Shassi’s more delicate accoutrements.  With that maleness comes a chunky gangliness that is apparent even this early.  His ears didn’t stand up completely for another 2 months or so, leaving me to wonder at the age of 3 1/2 months whether my Shiba was going to have Sheltie ears for the rest of his life.  He took a long while to grow into his body, being around 2 years old when everything finally came together.

I found Shassi’s temperament to be more reminiscent of the Japanese ideal for their Shibas: very much her own dog and not given to really looking to us, the humans, for direction.  She was playful in her youth, but matured early and she was never given to retrieving balls or sticks (although she did deign to chase them for a few minutes if she was really peppy).

Tierce at 2 and 1/2 years, is still playful, loves his toys – especially his Kong and his stuffed Dracula that intones I’m going to suck your blood! when squeezed – and actually will come when called (not super-reliably, but definitely regularly enough to qualify for some kind of Shiba World Record).  He is the product, though, of almost 15 years of Sunojo breeding for temperament and health – the latest generations of Sunojo Shibas are happy, friendly dogs who will actually acknowledge your presence!

It may not be the Japanese ideal, but I think I like Tierce’s temperament better than Shassi’s.  He’s still a Shiba, but he’s also a lot more fun to play with.    However, while I think it’s the product of careful breeding, there is a lot to be said for the differences between male Shibas and female Shibas.  I have heard many times that the males tend to be friendlier with people (although not with other male dogs!) and more playful.  It is somewhat unusual, as people accustomed to other breeds of dog usually used to the opposite – female dogs who are friendlier and more responsive to people and male dogs who are more aloof and aggressive towards them.

Shassi as a 3 month old puppy.

Tierce looks so big next to her now.

This is my aunt with Shassi.

I wasn’t sure that Shassi would make it to 16, but here she is.  She is pretty much senile, but my aunt has made Shassi her own special project.  Every day, she takes Shassi out, feeds her the special low-protein dog food, makes sure her water has chicken stock in it so she’ll drink enough.

I’ve offered to take her several times over the years, but the answer always was, “But she’s so happy here…”  I think that it’s more that she gives my aunt and mom something to think about and fuss over.  As long as Shassi is content, I’m happy to let things stay that way.

Happy birthday, Shassi.

Places to Take a Shiba in Nanaimo

Starring Tierce, of course.

What You Must Learn About the Rabies Vaccine for Dogs

A year ago, Tierce got the rabies shot that immediately preceded his first allergic reaction.  Now he is still in his cone (much better now, thanks to the Atopica) and recovering much more slowly than the last attack.  We’re not taking him off medication again.

The above link has some interesting information about the rabies vaccine.  I’m generally not a fan of red/black/white websites with a lot of exclamation marks, but I think that this one has a lot of useful information.  As always, consult with your vet before taking any steps for or against vaccination.

I am not planning to ever go beyond the puppy shots and maybe a booster shot for my next dogs.  I’m not planning on blindly giving my dog medication I don’t know about either.

Let me know how it goes!

From Red Star Cafe. This made me smile.

Dogs as intelligent as two-year-old children

I have never agreed with Dr. Coren’s use of the term “intelligence” to denote a dog’s response to obedience commands. I would have liked it better if he used another term – perhaps “obedience application” rather than “intelligence”.

Look at the breeds ranked as “most intelligent”:

1. Border Collie
2. Poodle
3. German Shepherd Dog
4. Golden Retriever
5. Doberman Pinscher
6. Shetland Sheepdog
7. Labrador Retriever
8. Papillon
9. Rottweiler
10. Australian Cattle Dog

Half of them are from herding backgrounds and three of them from retrieving backgrounds – types of dog that are naturally attuned to their owners.  These are types of dog bred to work closely with humans and to take direction.

Here are the breeds ranked the least intelligent:

1. Shih Tzu
2. Basset Hound
3. Mastiff
   Beagle (tied)
4. Pekingese
5. Bloodhound
6. Borzoi
7. Chow Chow
8. Bulldog
9. Basenji
10. Afghan Hound

6 of the 10 are scent or sight hounds, bred for hunting and pulling down game.  Not bred for working to close commands with the owner, not bred to take intricate direction.

Since Coren did not evaluate Shibas in his “intelligence” tests, let’s take a look at similar breeds to figure out where they would stand.

Above Average Working/Obedience Intelligence

33. Samoyed

36. Norwegian Elkhound

Average Working/Obedience Intelligence

43. Finnish Spitz

45. Siberian Husky

50. Alaskan Malamute

54. Akita

Low Obedience Intelligence

76. Chow Chow

78. Basenji

So, I would say that the Shiba would be in the Average category.  But this is where this is flawed.  As Shiba owners know, obedience is not an indicator of overall intelligence.  As Shiba owners also know, their dogs also can put any 2 year old human child to shame when it comes to single-minded escape maneuvers.  Shibas can learn and execute commands with blinding speed; they just don’t give a shit unless you’re waving a poached salmon wildly in their sight… if they’re hungry … if there isn’t something more interesting around … if the wind happens to be blowing westerly and its Tuesday…

Sometimes I’m sure we would all love a stupid dog who can’t figure out that they can jump from the compost heap to the garbage can to the top of the fence and catapult off like a high diver in the Olympic finals.  A dog who can’t figure out how to open simple lids would also be nice, as would a dog who can’t calculate your length of reach to the millimetre so that they can keep the leash exactly just out of your grasp if they get loose.

Average.  Sure.

FREE dog sleeping bag from PetMaxi.com

FREE conditioner from PetMaxi.com

The latest episode of Skepticality, the podcast of Skeptic Magazine.  Derek and Swoopy – well, just Swoopy – interview Dr. Marc Bekoff on animal morality.  It begins about a quarter into the podcast.  From the website:

Marrying years of behavioral and cognitive research with compelling and moving anecdotes, Dr. Bekoff and his co-author Jessica Pierce reveal that animals exhibit a broad repertoire of moral behaviors, including fairness, empathy, trust, and reciprocity. Underlying these behaviors is a complex and nuanced range of emotions, backed by a high degree of intelligence and surprising behavioral flexibility.

Catladders blog Yes, these are cat ladders around the world, but imagine how we could mod these for our Shibas.  With Tierce (still in his cone, unfortunately) surfing the back of the couch on a regular basis and having a feline-like ability to pick his way along impossibly small pathways, it might be an interesting prospect.  Scroll down for great pictures of goat towers.  I would love to build a Shiba tower, especially if I got another Shiba.

Consumer Alert: Pet doors could cause your children to DIE

I found this link today, although it’s a few weeks old.  A family loses their small child to drowning because he found out he could crawl through the dog door.  Now they’re suing the dog door manufacturers because it was somehow their fault for not telling them that a small child could get through a door meant for a dog or cat.

From the link above:

The PetSafe door in the Ranfone home contained no warning to parents of the possible danger on its package or product instructions.

She was outraged to learn that many children had died under similar circumstances before her son.

“It was just unbelievable to me that all of these accidents happened as a result of doggie doors and how come I wasn’t informed,” she told ABC News.

She’s even got a website.

I have a strong suspicion that the reason that she hasn’t heard much about tragic accidents involving children and pet doors is because the parents accepted that it was their fault for not ensuring that the child could not go through the pet door.  However, it seems like it’s the fashion to wave one’s irresponsibility/stupidity/thoughtlessness out in public, in hope of getting money or attention.  Maybe the Ranfones simply don’t want to accept that, if one of them had taken the time to secure the pet door, their son would be alive.  However, instead of nursing their hurts, they chose to threaten the livelihood of a manufacturer who made the mistake of expecting that normal, functioning adults could comprehend a normal, functioning pet door.